ELYRIA -- Lorain County's state senator will have a key role in Ohio's transportation future as legislators consider using the Ohio Turnpike to borrow money for road projects.

At least three Lorain County road projects could benefit from the plan.

The Ohio Senate this week will take up debate on House Bill 51, the plan proposed by Gov. John Kasich to pay for road repairs. The state would borrow up to $1.5 billion that would be repaid with future turnpike tolls that drivers pay.

State Sen. Gayle Manning will oversee deliberations as chairwoman of the Ohio Senate's Transportation Committee. She also is a member of the Ohio Turnpike Commission.

Last month, the committee began taking testimony about how the plan would affect Ohio.

So far, the plan sounds reasonable, Manning said in an interview with The Morning Journal late last month.

Bonding it at a low interest rate is "a great idea" and better than leasing it or selling it, Manning said.

It appears the money from selling turnpike bonds could be a rapid infusion of cash for up to three Lorain County road projects, Manning said.

The new state money could pay for massive upgrades along SR 57 between I-90 and the Ohio Turnpike in Elyria. It also could help pay for widening Center Ridge Road and Lear Nagle Road in North Ridgeville.

"We're excited to get the projects completed in northern Ohio that motorists tell us they want done," said Steve Faulkner, press secretary for ODOT. "We're ready to move forward and we're excited for the legislature to help us get there."

The projects would create jobs that would put Lorain County families to work, Faulkner said.

The three already are on the state's list of road projects planned in coming years.

The SR 57 project would reroute the traffic patterns along SR 57 between I-90 and the turnpike, and would eliminate the need to drive over the city's East 49th Street bridge, Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda said.

The project is estimated to cost more than $22 million and could be 11 years or more off in the future, Brinda said. But with new turnpike bond money, the project could be bid out as early as next year, she said.

"So this current proposal has the potential of moving this project up dramatically," Brinda said. She will testify in the Senate's Transportation Committee about it next week.

Changing the SR 57 roadway would reduce the number of crashes, improve and increase traffic to the Midway Mall and open up Elyria's west side to future development, Brinda said.

"It's going to create jobs through the construction process, and it's going to have a huge long-term economic development impact, not only on the area but we think the region," Brinda said.

However, Democrats in the Ohio House pounced on the turnpike plan and called for Kasich and Republicans to guarantee turnpike tolls will not go up and to pledge the road repair money for northern Ohio.

"I believe the governor should be willing to put that in writing," said State Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria. "I voted no (Thursday) because we couldn't get those assurances in writing."

Lundy added, "I think my residents wouldn't think I was doing my job if I just did things on the basis of a handshake down here."

The turnpike bond plan ensures the state retains control over the Ohio Turnpike, said Manning, a Republican.

"We still have control; we still have our Ohio Turnpike Commission," she said. "We'll be able to have control of that; we'll have control of the tolls; we'll have control if the road is being taken care of."

The turnpike has low toll rates and Manning said she wants to keep them low.

As a frequent driver on the turnpike, Manning said her Columbus colleagues ask why she has such an "emotional attachment" to the road. But Manning said, she doesn't have an emotional attachment. Rather, she said, "Mine's a financial attachment. We paid for that road, and it's very important to us, and we want to make sure it continues to work well for us."

State Rep. Dan Ramos, D-Lorain, also voted no, and State Rep. Terry Boose, a Republican from Norwalk, joined the dissenters.

"We will be paying more than our fair share of the cost to build roads and fix roads in Ohio," Boose said.

Boose's district includes part of Lorain County and he said he opposed the turnpike plan on the basis of fairness.

Northern Ohio residents use the turnpike all the time, either by driving on it or working in businesses that use it for deliveries, Boose said. But drivers from central or southern Ohio rarely use it, he said.

Ohio has a problem funding its infrastructure improvements, Boose said, but he opposed asking area residents to pay more.

In North Ridgeville, city staff are planning for the Center Ridge and Lear Nagle road widening projects to make them ready to go whenever money becomes available, Safety-Service Director Jeff Armbruster said.

Ohio drivers already pay a gas tax that is meant to cover road repair projects, Armbruster said, who also is a former state senator and former chairman of the Senate's Transportation Committee. If the turnpike plan passes, it was unclear whether state legislators or transportation staff would reallocate gas tax money to pay for projects in southern Ohio, he said.

Another possibility could be to build new turnpike interchanges to use the highway more as a local commuter road, Armbruster said.

"These are issues that are very complex," Armbruster said. "I look at it this way: This is a good problem to have."